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Gig Harbor, Washington - 18 schools
An equity score of 39/100 ranks Peninsula School District #168 of 238 districts in Washington (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $17,026 per pupil, Peninsula School District ranks #163 of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending (Washington districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
8,969
Total Enrollment
18
Schools
$17,026
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Peninsula School District operates 18 public schools serving 8,969 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Washington. The school portfolio breaks down into 6 combined, 5 elementary, 4 middle, 3 high schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Pierce County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $17,026 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 309 Washington districts by per-pupil spending. See how Washington compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 23.8% local, 68.0% state, and 8.2% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 39/100, ranked #168 of 238 in Washington against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 3 of 18 schools offering Advanced Placement (27 AP courses district-wide), a 361.2:1 student-counselor ratio, well above the ASCA benchmark though still under the roughly 408:1 national average, and 7.2% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 75.0% White, 11.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% Asian across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Harbor Heights Elementary School, with a diversity index of 49.1/100.
Its largest campus is Gig Harbor High, enrolling 1,375 students (15% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Peninsula Alternative Programs, at 118 students, a 12x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Gig Harbor High accounts for 15.1% of all Peninsula School District student enrollment
That concentration means Peninsula School District-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Peninsula School District school enrollment varies 12× across entities
Peninsula School District school enrollment ranges from 118 students (lowest) to 1,375 students (highest), a spread of 1,257 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Peninsula School District student-counselor ratio is 361:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Peninsula School District chronic absenteeism rate is 7.2% — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
How many schools are in Peninsula School District?
Peninsula School District has 18 schools, including 3 high, 4 middle, 5 elementary, 6 combined. Total enrollment is 8,969 students.
How much does Peninsula School District spend per student?
Peninsula School District spends $17,026 per student. The district has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #168 in Washington.
What is the demographic composition of Peninsula School District?
Peninsula School District students are 75.0% White, 11.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.7% Asian, 0.6% African American, averaged across 18 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Peninsula School District?
Peninsula School District has an equity score of 39/100, ranking #168 out of 238 districts in Washington.